Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson is set to play the undead in a new BBC zombie drama.

The actor will appear alongside fellow veteran Kenneth Cranham in the three-part BBC 3 series In The Flesh, which began filming this week.

Newcomer Luke Newberry will play the role of Kieran Walker, a zombie who is attempting to be reintegrated back into society.

He will be revived alongside several other characters in the fictional village of Roarton, who have to undergo a rehabilitation process before they can be sent back to their families.

Director Jonny Campbell, who was behind acclaimed BBC drama Eric And Ernie,said: "From the moment I read the opening scene I was hooked. What's most exciting about In The Flesh is that it challenges our preconceptions about the standard zombie genre and in so doing almost certainly creates a new one."